


You're Gonna Find Yourself Somewhere, Somehow

by Goddess_in_Aubergine



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Gen, Natural Hair, Self-Acceptance, Self-Discovery, interracial adoption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:41:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23091211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goddess_in_Aubergine/pseuds/Goddess_in_Aubergine
Summary: Michael's journey explored through her hair
Kudos: 14





	You're Gonna Find Yourself Somewhere, Somehow

Gabrielle loves her daughter's hair. It was soft like lamb's wool. She would comb it out from the end to the roots. Michael wasn’t fond of the process, but Gabrielle relished this time with her daughter. The selection of earth hair products on Doctari Alpha were limited, and what was there wasn’t optimal for Michael’s coiled tresses. So, Gabrielle had taken to making Michael’s hair products herself, as many of the Vulcan women did. Many Vulcan women from near its equator had similar phenotypes to Black humans. She was fortunate to receive a few recipes from her fellow researcher V’Sana. Gabrielle was preparing a cleansing conditioner for her daughter now. 

8 ounces of whipped  _ favinit _ butter with 6 drops of  _ g’teth _ berry extract and 4 drops of extract from the  _ lmh’ta  _ herb. To finish it off, Gabrielle added some preservatives so that it would hold without having to keep it in the stasis chamber. 

“Michael,” Gabrielle called. “Come here and bring some towels. You hear me?”

“Yes, mama!” came Michael’s muffled voice from another room. There was a flurry of footsteps hitting the hard floor and Micheal walked into the room, small arms clutching 2 large towels. She wore a dour expression. “Mama,” complained Michael. “You just washed my hair last week.”

“I know, baby girl,” said Gabrielle. “But it got all sandy when you went sledding with your dad.” Gabrielle was careful to avoid blame. She didn’t want Michael to curtail her play for the preservation of her hairstyle. “It’s okay, it just needs to be washed again.”

Gabrielle took the towels from Michael. She spread one out on the counter next to the counter attached to the kitchen sink and then she took the second towel, rolled it up, and placed it on the edge of the sink nearest to the first one. “Hop up, baby girl,” said Gabrielle. Michael lifted her arms up and Gabrielle lifted her onto the counter. Michael laid down on her back, neck resting on the towel, head hanging backwards into the sink. 

“Thank you, Michael.” Gabrielle took Michael's hair out of its twin puffs and set the water temperature to 23.88 degrees Celsius. She then took the side sprayer and began to wet Micheal's hair. 

“My head is heavy, Mama,” Michael complained. 

“I’ll be quick, Michael,” replied Gabrielle. She then took the conditioner she made and applied it to Micheal’s hair, working from her hair root to hair tips. “You can get down for a few minutes. Go sit in your chair.” Micheal wasted no time hopping off the counter. 

Gabrielle picked up the wide-tooth comb and stood behind Michael. Gabrielle sectioned off Michael's hair into four sections and began to detangle from the tips of Michael's hair and got closer to her scalp with each pass through. Despite Gabrielle holding Michael’s hair at the root to prevent pulling the girl still flinched occasionally. She was so tender headed. Perhaps she would try distraction. 

“How was sledding with your Dad?” asked Gabrielle. “I heard you were very brave!” 

“Yes mama,” said Michael “I even went down the biggest dune! Even daddy was afraid.”

“Did you get to go fast?”

“I went  _ extraordinarily _ fast,” Michael said, bouncing a bit. Gabrielle smiled at Michael trying out one of her new vocabulary words. “I fell off my sled, so my hair got sandy. But I was okay! I got up and went down the dune again.”

“That’s my girl, Michael.” Gabrielle had finished detangling Michael's hair and she put a shower cap on her head to let the conditioner sit for a while. “In honor of such bravery, would you like a sugar cookie?” 

“Yes please,” said Michael. 

Michael finished her cookie and Gabrielle had her get back on the counter so she could rinse the conditioner out. 

“Are we done?” asked Michael as she got off the counter. 

“You know I have to braid your hair down before you go to bed,” said Gabrielle. “How do you want your hair to look?”

Michael scrunched her face. “Just designs on the front. I want to wear my puffs.” She raced to the living room and activated the holoscreen. “Let’s watch a star documentary!” 

“Alright Michael,” Gabrielle said as she settled on the couch. Michael on the floor facing the holoscreen between her mother’s knees. Gabrielle picked up a comb and began to style. Michael wouldn't be a little girl forever and she hoped to help her with the little things for as long as Michael allowed her. 

**Author's Note:**

> Next up will be Michael and Amanda. I appreciate your feedback no matter how brief and I am open to constructive criticisms.


End file.
